Be a Friend
I was a tomboy growing up. I was always trying to fit in with my brothers. I didn’t want to be stuck in the house playing dolls with my sister or sit and read like she liked to do. I wanted to be outside riding my bike, catching toads, playing with the animals or wading in the creek in the woods. I wanted to be one of the boys, but I wasn’t. When my brothers banded together, they did everything they could to lose me. They would run faster, hop on their bikes and ride off, or join together in taunting me. “Skunk”, “Stick legs” “Ugly”. These words stung to the core even though I tried to act like they didn’t bother me. They stung more from the rejection rather than the insult intended. I wanted to be a part of the pack. I wanted to fit in. But I wasn’t one of them. I was a girl. Today, as a grown woman, I still struggle with feeling like I don’t fit in. My friends would never call me names like my brothers used to, but they are still banding together, running faster than me o...